In a video prior to the release of This Machine Pwns N00bs, Hank held up his guitar and declared that it was his "pwner." A random YouTube commenter left a comment on the video reading "This machine pwns n00bs," referencing famous photo of Woodie Guthrie holding up a guitar reading "This machine kills fascists," which John Green has referenced a few times in his videos and in his book Paper Towns. Hank wrote the phrase on his guitar by the next video and shortly afterwards decided to call his album that.